Life-extending epilepsy surgery performed less often in Black children, study finds
Black children with drug-resistant epilepsy were less likely than white patients to receive surgery that can extend lives, a new study found.
Children with drug-resistant epilepsy who are Black or insured through Medicaid may be less likely than white and privately insured patients to receive surgical treatments that can end or minimize their seizures and extend their lives, according to new research being presented Monday at the American Epilepsy Society’s annual meeting in Orlando, Fla.
The study of 18,000 children who were treated at 49 pediatric hospitals in the U.S. between 2004 and 2020 found that those who had cranial surgery, which involves removing or disconnecting the brain portion where seizures occur, were 83% more likely to be alive after 10 years. Children who received vagus nerve stimulation, or VNS, which involves implanting a device under the skin of the chest or neck to send electrical impulses to the brain, were 35% more likely to be alive. All of the patients were taking anti-seizure medications, because the drugs help to reduce their occurrence, even if they don’t end seizures entirely.
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